Construction techniques of traditional dwellings in South Fujian

The name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: the construction techniques of Minnan traditional dwellings

Applicant: Nan'an City, Fujian Province

Item No.: 962

Project No.: VIII - 179

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: traditional art

Region: Fujian Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Nan'an City, Fujian Province

Protected by: Nan'an Museum

Brief introduction to the construction techniques of traditional dwellings in South Fujian:

Applicant: Nan'an City, Fujian Province

The building skills of traditional dwellings in South Fujian are the product of the combination of Central Plains culture and local culture in South Fujian. Combined with the geography, climate and cultural customs of Quanzhou, it forms a unique architectural form and spreads in Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Xiamen, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

The most unique architecture of Minnan folk houses is commonly known as "huanggongqi", and Huian folk house construction technology is the most typical through the construction of "huanggongqi" palace style house. "Imperial palace" originated in the Tang and Five Dynasties, has a history of more than 1000 years. At that time, Huang Jue, the concubine of Wang Shenzhi (862-925), the king of Fujian, was from Hui'an. Because she was favored by the king of Fujian, she was authorized to build a large-scale palace in her hometown according to the rules and shape of the palace. Later, the "imperial palace" style residence became the local style, and gradually spread everywhere. After nanwaizongzhengsi moved to Quanzhou, the royal family of the Southern Song Dynasty brought the palace building skills of the central plains into the folk, which further developed the palace style "imperial palace rise" residential buildings. This kind of palace style big house has single house, double house, four house and three Bay, five bay, etc. it is a horizontal expansion layout, with two, three and five rooms in depth. The "imperial palace" takes the courtyard as the organizational unit, while the corridor and overflow run through the whole house. Brick and tile are used in the construction, stone foundation and red brick are used to build the outer wall, bucket wood frame is used as the load-bearing structure, and the hard mountain roof and curved swallow tail ridge are used.

Cai's ancient residential complex in Nan'an City is a typical representative of Minnan's palaces in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and is listed as a national heritage protection unit. Cai's ancient residential group was built by Cai Qian, an overseas Chinese from the Philippines. It took 52 years from 1855 to 1907. It covers an area of 16000 square meters and has 400 rooms. It faces south from the north. Each dwelling has two or three entrances, with a shelter or East-West wing room. The main building is a hard hill and rolling shed roof, covered with red tiles and tubular tiles, a swallow tail shaped ridge, a bucket like wooden frame, carved beams and painted buildings. The front wall is decorated with brick and stone reliefs, and the window lattice is decorated with flowers and birds. The main houses are not only independent portals, but also connected with each other by stone roads paved with granite strips. These stone roads can be used as walking roads, as well as as as grain drying fields and cool places. The whole building complex is regular and transparent, and the layout is exquisite, which reflects the main characteristics of Minnan traditional residential buildings in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Located in Licheng District of Quanzhou City, the residence of Yang a Miao, a famous overseas Chinese in the late Qing Dynasty, is also a palace style residential building, which is listed as a cultural relic protection unit in Fujian Province. It was built in 1894 and lasted 18 years. It was completed in 1911. The total area of yanga Miao residence is 1349 square meters. The main building consists of five bays, three bays in front of the East and west sides, and a single row of symmetrical protective houses in the back. In front of the whole house is a large stone city, which is surrounded by brick walls. There are gates on the East and west sides leading to the outside. There are five courtyards in this residence, which is known as "five plum blossoms open patio"; in front of the flower hall on the east side, a rolling shed type Square Pavilion is built, in which there are wooden railings. The walls, eaves, walls, pillars, doors and windows inside and outside the house are decorated with exquisite wood carving, brick carving, gray carving and stone carving, among which the bluestone carving is the most exquisite.

With the acceleration of modernization, urban transformation and the rise of real estate construction, many traditional dwellings in Southern Fujian have been demolished or damaged. At the same time, with the rapid development of modern construction technology, the traditional construction market is shrinking, and some famous masters and craftsmen and their successors are dying or changing their careers, the traditional residential construction technology in Southern Fujian is facing the danger of extinction, which is in urgent need of rescue and protection.